Interview: 'Let's Be Cops' stars have no problem busting each other

Chicago Tribune reporter Luis Gomez sits with "Let's Be Cops" stars, Jake Johnson, Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr. to discuss life on the set and the joys of working on a buddy cop film...with a twist.

Chicago Tribune reporter Luis Gomez sits with "Let's Be Cops" stars, Jake Johnson, Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr. to discuss life on the set and the joys of working on a buddy cop film...with a twist.

How does "Let's Be Cops" star Damon Wayans Jr. get out of tickets? Hint: It involves his famous dad

The stars of “Let's Be Cops” came to lunch last month at Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse ready to entertain. To eat? Not so much.

Co-stars Jake Johnson, Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr. were halfway through a long day of promotion for the buddy comedy — which hit theaters Wednesday and stars Johnson and Wayans Jr. as 30-somethings who are going nowhere in life until they begin impersonating police officers — when they showed up to the Kinzie Street restaurant surprisingly energized. The plan was to have lunch, but a publicist revealed upon their arrival they would not be eating after all. Just talking.

So with waters in front of them and menus that were never opened off to the side, the three actors discussed the film at a corner table in the dining room and cracked jokes — mostly at each other's expenses, many of which can't be printed in this story. Really, the only thing that came out unscathed from the half hour of chop-busting was the white table cloth.

The following is an edited version of a longer conversation.

Q: Is this your first time at Harry Caray's?

Riggle: No, my picture is up here.

Johnson: I've been here a bunch.

Wayans Jr.: This is my first time.

Q:Are you aware of Harry Caray's?

Wayans Jr.: No, I've never heard of it.

Johnson: You've never heard of Harry Caray?

Wayans Jr.: I've heard of Harry Caray. I just didn't know he had a restaurant.

Riggle: Why are you getting all on Damon … ?

(Wayans Jr. pretends to calm down the pretend-mad Johnson in an, um, special way, which pretend-seems to work.)

Wayans Jr.: Feel better?

Johnson: Yeah, buddy. So what he is is a sports …

(Laughter erupts, the first of many times.)

Q:Have you guys ever worked in a restaurant before?

Riggle: I waited tables at Stanford and Sons (Comedy Club) in Kansas City. The worst thing that ever happened to me was a lady asked for ketchup. So I ran and got her some ketchup and set the bottle down. As I turned to walk, I heard an explosion. I turned around and everybody was covered in ketchup. Apparently when ketchup goes bad, the heat, I don't know, when she opened it, it exploded everywhere. It looked like somebody had been shot at the table.

Johnson: I was at a Wilmette country club or Evanston country club. I was a caterer. It was a bunch of Hispanic gentlemen and myself. And because I was the only white guy, everybody asked me for help. I was terrible at being a caterer. They'd ask me questions and I'd be like, “These guys next to me are so much better. Ask him. Not me.” I asked the guy there who was the most talented why (I was getting the questions) and he said, “Because you speak English.” So he gave me a “Jose” name tag and everybody left me alone.

Q:Do you think police officers will like “Let's Be Cops”?

Wayans Jr.: I think we've had a couple police officers at the screenings and they liked it: “You guys were terrible at being cops, but it was fun to watch.”

Q:You know someone is going to see this movie and want to impersonate cops, right?

Johnson: We're such clowns about it and we get our (butts) kicked. It's not like we got off, like, “We impersonated cops and everything was fine.” We get what's coming to us.

Q:I've seen Jake compare “Let's Be Cops” to an '80s film. That's exactly what I was thinking when I saw it.

Johnson: It felt like those movies I watched growing up where two funny people doing jokes get involved in something with a real bad guy, so the bad guy is not played by a comedian. He's a scary villain. They get in way over their heads and now they have to learn the lesson to get out of trouble. I grew up loving those movies.

Q: Have you guys ever gotten out of a ticket because of who you are?

Wayans Jr.: I have. Not because of who I am, but people mistaking me for my father. They'll pull me over and see my license like, “Wow, man, you look great. I love in ‘In Living Color.' Take off, man, take off.” I'll text my dad right after. I'm like, “Dad, thanks again.”

Q: Have you guys ever been mistaken for someone or something else, like in the movie?

Johnson: People call me Jack Johnson (as in, the mellow surfer-turned-singer) all the time. They don't think I'm him. They call me it because we both have, like, a sweet kind of Hawaiian vibe about us.

Riggle: I don't think that's what it is. I think it's just similar names.

Johnson: I think we both have kind of an “aloha” vibe. We both have great, surfer-type bodies — the kind of body where you can cruise on a wave and your body is perfect.

Wayans Jr.: Your body is the reverse of perfect, if there's (such) a thing.